Page 15 of The Summer Club

“And Sydney?”

Cora swallowed and smiled sadly at her youngest. “Syd, sweetheart, you are the biological daughter of your father and me.” Cora’s gaze traveled back to Andi and Hugh. “But you two are all mine.”

“Jesus.” Hugh had leapt up, his chair tipping back with a clatter against the stone patio.

“Wait,” Cora cried. “Please, let me finish!”

Like a child, Hugh had covered both ears. “I can’t hear any more. Not now. I need a minute.”

Andi watched as her twin stalked away from all of them to the far corner of the patio, nearest the beach path. For a moment she was afraid he was going to run down it, leaving her here to deal with this without him. But he stopped and turned, the sunset casting him in an eerie, fiery glow.

He stared at Andi. As it had always been with them as twins, a thousand words passed silently between them.

Andi started to cry. “I know,” she told him.

And in reply Hugh started to cry too.

“Mom?” Molly had asked and Andi remembered with a start that she was still there.

She’d sent Molly inside, gently but firmly. Assuring her all was okay, when of course it was not. And might never be again. When Molly was safely through the screen door, Andi turned to Sydney, who’d remained dutifully in her seat, her knees drawn up to her chin like a child. Always the little sister. “I didn’t know,” Sydney cried. “I swear, I didn’t know.”

Andi shook her head. “It’s okay, Syd. Please don’t cry.”

“You are all our children.” Their father’s voice rang out as he returned through the screen door, and all three heads snapped in his direction, just as they had since childhood. “Do you hear me? You have always been my kids. This changes nothing!”

Hugh stood his ground at the edge of the patio, his arms crossed and back turned. But even he was listening, Andi could tell.

Charley went on. “What happened tonight is… god-awful. And confusing, I know. I feel it too. This wasn’t how we wanted to tell you.”

“But why didn’t you tell us?” Andi asked. “After all these years. We’re not little kids anymore.”

Charley draped his arm around Cora, who still could not look up. “We planned to tell you. A thousand times we tried and thought we would, but each time we couldn’t.”

“Why not?” Hugh demanded.

“Because it was complicated, my love.” Cora lifted her eyes to her firstborn, just eleven minutes in front of his sister. “I was so young. And all alone when I became pregnant with you and Andi. From the very beginning, I knew that your biological father wouldn’t be in the picture, and he proved me right.” She paused. “And then there was your dad. He loved me. And when you two were born he fell in love all over again, with both of you.” Here she looked between them and Andi felt her heart give just a little. “And thank God, we made our own little family. You see? By the time Sydney came along, years later, he was already your dad. Had always been, from the first day.”

“But that’s not the whole truth,” Hugh said. “Didn’t you think we had a right to know all of it?” He looked at Andi. “We had a right to know.”

Andi nodded. Hugh was saying all the things she wanted to, but couldn’t find the words for.

“You’re right,” Charley said. “But we also didn’t want to hurt you. Because you were both just as much my children as Sydney was, and we didn’t see the point in telling you something that could divide the family. We weren’t trying to hide it. We were trying to protect you. You have to believe that.”

“I don’t know what to believe.” Hugh raked his hand through his hair. “If you’re not our real father, then who is? I want to know his name.”

Charley’s shoulders sunk and he turned to his wife. This was her question to answer. “Robert Townsend. Your biological father was a man I dated in college,” she said.

“Does he know about us?” Andi’s voice cracked as it began to sink in that there was a person out there carrying her DNA, to whom she was closely related, and yet a complete stranger to.

Cora nodded. “I told him I was planning to have you. He knew, and he also knew he was welcome to be a part of our lives.” She looked between the two of them, weighing her words. “You have to remember, he was young too. We were just college kids.”

“Did he ever meet us?” Hugh asked.

The look on Cora’s face was answer enough.

“But you told him about us…?” Hugh pressed.

“Hugh, honey. He knew. He knew you were coming and he knew when you were born.” She looked at Charley. “We both made sure of it. I’m sorry he chose not to be involved. The loss is his.”